Ema Pukšec

Ema Pukšec (1834-1889), also known as Ilma De Murska, was a famous 19th century soprano opera singer from Croatia.

Life

Ema was born on February 6, 1834 in Ogulin in today's Croatia. Her place of birth is often mistakenly stated to be Zagreb. Her mother was Krescencia Brodarotti de Trauenfeld, while her father, Josip Pukšec, was a highly respected military officer stationed in the region around the city of Slunj. For all he did protecting the eastern flanks of western Europe within the Austrian Military Frontier, her father was granted nobility and added the extension "Murski" to his name. The same was later used by Ema as her surname.

Ema started playing the piano at the age of five. After her family moved to Zagreb in 1850, she started to sing, hoping for a later opera career. She married a soldier by the name of Josip Eder in 1851, with whom they had two children (Alfons and Hermina). They moved first to Graz in 1857, then to Vienna in 1860, in order to enable Ema to study voice in the city's conservatory. She also studied for a time in Paris.

Her professional career started in 1862 and lasted some 20 years. She is sometimes described as the "phenomenal Hungarian prima donna", which is not correct, since she was Croatian-born. The reason of the misunderstanding is that Croatia was at the time part of the Kingdom of Hungary, which in turn was part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire.

She died on January 14, 1889 in Munich, Germany.

Education and Career

Ilma De Murska was a coloratura soprano with a range of three octaves. Her career as Ilma de Murska started in 1862 in Florence, Italy as Lady Harriet in Friedrich von Flotow's "Martha". Some sources claim she debuted as Marguerite de Valois in "Les Huguenots". Her tour of Europe followed by performing in Hungary, (Budapest), Spain, Italy. After a string of 42 successful performances, there was just one place to go - Vienna.

She came as a guest artist, representing the royal theatre of Berlin and sang on August 16, 1864 in Verdi's "Il Trovatore". Her period in Vienna was the best part of her career, which closed on August 10 1873 in a farewell performance, in which she played Ophelia in the very first performance of Ambroise Thomas' "Hamlet" at the Vienna Court Opera. Her finest roles were the Queen of the Night in Mozart's "The Magic Flute" and "Lucia di Lammermoor". She also sang "Dinorah" and "Isabella" in "Robert le Diable".

Assessments

She was among the finest best operatic sopranos of her era, rivalling Pauline Lucca, Christine Nilsson, Etelka Gerster and even the great Adelina Patti in skill and fame during the peak of her career. Music critics, aristocratic opera patrons and ordinary listeners alike called her the The Croatian Nightingale following her acclaimed appearances in Vienna and London.

London

Ilma de Murska's London appearances were from 1865 until after 1873 and were generally in connection with Mapleson's company. She made her London debut as Lucia di Lammermoor at Her Majesty's Theatre. Her appearance as Queen of the Night in 1865, in a production with Therese Tietjens, Charles Santley and Clarice Sinico, was triumphant [J.H. Mapleson, "The Mapleson Memoirs" (Belford, Clark and Co, Chicago 1888) I, 87.] : George Bernard Shaw observed that, in the famous fioriturae of this role, she sang 'to chime with a delicate ring and inimitable precision of touch'. [Corno di Bassetto, "London Music in 1888 to 1889 as heard by Corno di Bassetto" (Constable, London 1937), 61-3.] Santley, however, thought she sang the slow section of "Non paventar" almost as well as Jenny Lind, but was disappointing in the faster passage. [C. Santley, "Student and Singer, The Reminiscences of Charles Santley" (Edward Arnold, London 1892), 222-226.]

In 1866 London saw her as Meyerbeer's "Dinorah", with Italo Gardoni and Santley (Hoel), in which she was excellent except in the 'Shadow song', which was 'ragged'. [Santley 1892, 242-244.] She seemed 'out of her element' as Linda di Chamounix in 1869, and introduced a tedious air and variations by Heinrich Proch just before the finale which, while winning applause for a few high notes, brought the drama to a stop. [Santley 1892, 272.] That autumn she was Ophelia in Ambroise Thomas's "Hamlet", with Santley and Carl Formes, in London and on tour, but was outshone by Christine Nilsson in the same role. [Santley 1892, 279.] Santley thought her best as Senta in Wagner's "Flying Dutchman", opposite Santley as Vanderdecken, which they studied and first performed together in the George Wood season at Drury Lane in 1870. In this (which she sang in Italian) she played with great energy and spirit. [Santley 1892, 285-286; Mapleson 1888, I, 133.]

In 1871 she was Isabella (with Tietjens as Alice and Belval as Bertramo), for Ernesto Nicolini's English debut, in "Robert le Diable"; [Mapleson 1888, I, 152.] in the following year she played the same role, with Christine Nilsson, Mongini (Roberto), Italo Gardoni and Signor Foli. [H. Klein, "Thirty Years of Musical Life in London, 1870-1900" (Century Co., New York 1903), 154.] Her London Leonora ("Il Trovatore") was much admired. [Santley 1892, 222-226.] She also took part in Mapleson's tours in Dublin between 1872 and 1876. [Mapleson 1888, I, 155-156, 163-166, 190.]

Even after leaving Vienna in 1873, "Ilma De Murska" was welcome guest and performed in Hamburg, Berlin, Paris. In 1873 and 1874 the soprano toured United States. She also toured Russia, Australia and New Zealand, and for a period of time she lectured at the music conservatory in New York City.

Mlle de Murska was noted for her hypersensitivity, especially about her age, and for the large menagerie of animals which accompanied her everywhere. Most important of these was an immense black Newfoundland dog called Pluto, which was trained to eat fowl off a plate, set for him as a place at the dining table with his mistress, without dripping anything on the tablecloth. [Mapleson 1888, I, 163-166.] His smell, however, caused Santley to insist on his exclusion from the green room at rehearsals, which the dog habitually attended. [Santley 1892, 225.] He customarily travelled in the first-class carriage with his mistress. His constant travelling-associates were two parrots, an Angora cat, and a monkey. The monkey and cat tormented each other and clawed each other's fur, and the parrots were given free range in the hotels where the diva was staying, and were frequently destructive of the furnishings. Mlle de Murska accepted the consequent expenses happily. [Mapleson 1888, I, 163-166.]

Notes

External links

* [http://www.ogulin.hr/povijest/puksec.htm Ema Puksec - In Croatian]
* [http://www.picturehistory.com/find/p/21765/mcms.html Ilma De Murska Historic Picture-USA]
* [http://www.statelibrary.vic.gov.au/miscpics/0/1/3/doc/mp013265.shtml Ilma De Murska Historic Picture-Australia]
* [http://www.matica.hr/Vijenac/vij219.nsf/AllWebDocs/prilog Croatian Opera Singers - In Croatian]